NEW ORLEANS -- It may sound like an obvious statement after the last two games, but the Eagles' decision to fire Juan Castillo over the bye week was labeled as a "miscalculation" by one of the team's decision-makers following a 28-13 loss to the Saints on Monday night.

Decision to fire Castillo a "miscalculation"

Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted:
Thursday, October 17, 2013, 10:18 AM

NEW ORLEANS -- It may sound like an obvious statement after the last two games, but the Eagles' decision to fire Juan Castillo over the bye week was labeled as a "miscalculation" by one of the team's decision-makers following a 28-13 loss to the Saints on Monday night.

In an attempt to shake-up the team following a disastrous overtime loss to the Lions on Oct. 14, Eagles coach Andy Reid fired Castillo as defensive coordinator and replaced him with defensive backs coach Todd Bowles.

Bowles had never been a coordinator in the NFL. He was hired in January after a stint with the Miami that ended with him as interim head coach for three games in 2011.

Castillo was promoted from offensive line coach in Jan. 2011, a move that was criticized by many at the time. Castillo struggled in his first year as coordinator, but his defense showed improvement in 2012.

But back-to-back fourth quarter collapses against Pittsburgh and Detroit led to his firing.

Bowles hasn't had the opportunity to blow any fourth quarter leads because his defense has put the Eagles behind in the last two games. The Falcons scored on their first six possessions in their 30-17 win over the Eagles on Oct. 28.

The defense showed marginal improvement against the Saints, but could not keep the Eagles in the game after Michael Vick threw a pick six that spotted New Orleans a 7-0 lead. The Saints offense gained 371 yards and scored 21 points as the Eagles missed many tackles and were poor on third down and in the red zone.

We encourage respectful comments but reserve the right to delete anything that doesn't contribute to an engaging dialogue.

Help us moderate this thread by flagging comments that violate our guidelines.

Comment policy:

Philly.com comments are intended to be civil, friendly conversations. Please treat other participants with respect and in a way that you would want to be treated. You are responsible for what you say. And please, stay on topic. If you see an objectionable post, please report it to us using the "Report Abuse" option.

Please note that comments are monitored by Philly.com staff. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable. Personal attacks, especially on other participants, are not permitted. We reserve the right to permanently block any user who violates these terms and conditions.

Additionally comments that are long, have multiple paragraph breaks, include code, or include hyperlinks may not be posted.